3 min readJun 2, 2026 06:04 PM IST
Managers will be allowed to use laptops during hydration breaks at the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup. According to a report in The Athletic, coaches and support staff will have access to laptops throughout the tournament.
The players, however, will have to stay on the field during these breaks, which would mean that they won’t be able to cross the touchline to huddle around the laptop on the bench. However, there are no laws that explicitly prevent players from studying a laptop kept next to a touchline while staying on the field.
The International Football Association Board (IFAB), football’s lawmakers, say that coaches can use electronic equipment during a match.
“The use of any form of electronic communication by team officials is permitted where it directly relates to player welfare or safety or for tactical/coaching reasons, but only small, mobile, handheld equipment (e.g. microphone, headphone, earpiece, mobile phone/smartphone, smartwatch, tablet, laptop) may be used,” the regulations state.
US coach Mauricio Pochettino recently used his laptop to discuss tactics with his players during the first of the two hydration breaks in a friendly against Senegal on Sunday.
The Argentinian gathered his players around a MacBook, and analyst Alex Scott held the device in his hand, and Pochettino pointed at the screen, emphasising key moments from the video analysis for his players.
“OK, keep going, play,” Pochettino was heard saying. “And now, and now – stop.
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“And now, listen! Tim (Ream), now you see that it’s impossible to play (a pass). Play here. Stay a little bit. … And we play, and we play safe! Because in that moment, we are open.” One of the staffers then came and blocked the cameras.
Post the match, he admitted that he wasn’t sure if he could use a laptop to discuss tactics at the World Cup.
“We’ll see now in the World Cup if they can allow that, and how we are going to do that,” Pochettino told reporters after the friendly.
This will be the first World Cup where water breaks have been introduced for players. There will be two three-minute breaks in each half, with FIFA taking the decision keeping player safety in mind.
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“There will be no weather or temperature condition in place, with the breaks being called by the referee in all games, to ensure equal conditions for all teams, in all matches,” FIFA said in their press release in December.
